Elo Viiding

Family

Viiding is the third poet in her family. Her father, Juhan Viiding was a famous and influential poet in the 1970s. He was also an actor. Her grandfather, Paul Viiding, was a member of Arbujad in the 1930s. Viiding's mother was a music teacher.

Education

Viiding, inspired by her father's career as an actor and her mother's love for music, graduated from school in 1999 as an actress. She studied violin.

Literary career

Viiding debuted under a pseudonym ("Elo Vee") in 1991. She published four anthologies under her pseudonym. Upon her father's death in 1995, she began to publish her works under her real name.

Themes and Style

Viiding writes mainly about the oppressed. It is her opinion that every person is controlled and oppressed by someone else. She also uses her poetry to address what she sees as shortcomings in the Estonianeducational system. She writes directly to her reader and her tone is extremely ironic. When her poetry is compared with that of other Estonian writers, it seems to be more masculine than feminine.